Youth tourism generated over 182b. dollars in tourism receipts in 2013

Youth tourism generated over 182 billion dollars in tourism receipts in 2013, representing 200 million international trips a year.

European Cities Marketing (ECM), the network of leading Tourist Offices and Conventions Bureaux in Europe added youth travel into their strategy during their annual conference on June 4-7 in host city Dresden, considering the opportunity they present for the leisure and meetings industry.

The conference, held at the International Congress Centre Dresden and moderated by Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, dealt with the key topic of “Young travellers, young delegates, young cities – What do we know, what should we do” focusing on three main questions: What do we know about young travellers and conference delegates? What tools are needed to reach this target group? And what is our role as the Destination Management Organisation in this market?

Juliet Stevens, Marketing Manager, World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation declared: “Youth travel is no longer a niche sector; it’s bigger than Facebook, bigger than McDonalds and bigger than the Argentian budget, generating over USD182 billion in tourism receipts in 2013. The global youth travel industry is now estimated to represent 200 million international trips a year, and the youth travel industry has grown faster than global travel overall. By 2020 the UNWTO estimates there will be almost 300 million international youth trips per year.”

European cities are young people’s favorite destinations
Citing findings from WYSE Travel Confederation’s New Horizons III report, Miss Stevens also revealed that young inbound travelers to Europe are more likely to visit historical places, museums, nightclubs and visit cafes and restaurants, rather than hang out on the beach, or go to theme parks, which are typically more popular activities for youth travelers outside of Europe.

In the frame of ECM annual meeting, ECM and TCI Research produced a joint study on the youth market.  Olivier Henry-Biabaud, author of the report, added: “Young travelers are enthusiastic with old city centres and historical and cultural diversity: 76% of visitors take time to explore historical monuments vs. only 56% in non European cities; they find it easy to explore thanks to accessible public transportation in cities offering safe and clean conditions for visiting and opportunities to enjoy days & night activities, interacting and engaging more with local people”. Read more…

Source: Traveldailynews.com